Best Practices for a Comprehensive Safety Program€¦ · Best Practices for a Comprehensive Safety Program ... of improved safety performance over the past 10 years. ... National

Best Practices for a Comprehensive Safety Program A Staffing Buyer’s Guide to Mitigating Risk

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each day, nearly 13 workers in the US fail to return home from work. Another 8,200 workers suffer injuries severe enough to be reported to OSHA. Each one of these events impacts families, friends and coworkers.

Safety failures also impose high costs on businesses. OSHA estimates that companies pay $1 billion per week for direct workers’ compensation costs—and about $170 billion a year in total direct and indirect costs. These figures allude to the risks employees and employers take every day.

As high as these numbers are, and as difficult as the social costs are for employees, families and colleagues, the statistics remain part of a broad trend of improved safety performance over the past 10 years. OSHA fatality rates have dropped from 4.2 in 2006 to 3.3 in 2014 per 100,000 FTE workers. Total recordable injury rates per 100,000 workers have decreased from 5 in 2003 to 3.3 in 2013 per 100,000 FTE workers.

One reason for this decrease is the sharing and application of best practices, which includes a standard formula of hazard analysis, communication and training. Simply put, companies now study the tasks workers are to perform, identify the hazards associated with the task, create safe practices and train workers to use them. Implementation of comprehensive safety programs has proven to reduce injuries and fatalities and thus has become a critical part of risk management for most businesses.

The staffing industry is no exception to these safety risks or to the standard safety procedures required by OSHA. Comprehensive safety programs must be implemented and upheld by staffing providers to keep their associates safe and mitigate risk for the staffing buyer. To contribute to the sharing of best practices, Staff Management | SMX has created this guide so staffing buyers know what to look for when choosing a staffing provider that aligns with their safety program goals.

A STAFFING BUYER’S GUIDE TO MITIGATING RISK 1

Staff Management | SMX • © Copyright 2016

PRINCIPLES OF A SAFE STAFFING PROGRAM

Workforce flexibility based on demand, seasonal adjustments and extended evaluation periods are just a few of the many reasons employers hire staffing providers. In addition to these staffing capabilities, employers must also remember to evaluate a provider’s safety procedures. To ensure safety compliance, best practices among staffing buyers and providers contain three components:

Staffing Buyer and Provider Relationship 1

Safety is not an afterthought. Staffing buyers and providers must discuss safety during the provider selection process and include commitment to safety as a reason to do business with one another. With the right foundation, safety becomes a critical commitment throughout the business relationship.

After associates are initially recruited and selected for their commitment to safety, their training and onboarding continues to emphasize its importance. Associates receive required personal protective equipment and work in a facility that encourages safe practices. Comprehensive safety programs are put in place to protect against a broad range of hazards.

Information about injuries, observations, near-misses and associate feedback is collected continually. The data is managed, analyzed, shared—and most importantly, action is taken. Follow up from safety data creates a virtuous cycle to further improve safe work practices, protect workers and reduce risk.

Associate Commitmentto Safety2 Utilization

of Safety Data3

2 BEST PRACTICES

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10 BEST PRACTICES TO UPHOLD THESE SAFETY PRINCIPLES

In order to uphold the principles of a safe staffing program, Staff Management | SMX has identified 10 best practices for mitigating risk and increasing compliance at the site level.

ESTABLISH COMMITMENT TO SAFETY DURING CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS1

OSHA compliance officers have stated that when conducting a site inspection, one of the first tip-offs of the quality of a safety program is the presence of a bound copy of procedures. Staffing providers that spend the time and money to create a safety program usually have updated print and digital copies available.

Similarly, staffing buyers who are serious about safety will take initiative to prioritize safety during negotiations with the staffing provider by asking for their safety plan and related materials. The staffing provider should be ready for these questions and have a library of materials ready to be shared. The readiness of these materials and plans will demonstrate the provider’s ability to set up a safety program that is customized to the staffing buyer and facility.

Most importantly, both the staffing buyer and provider will demonstrate commitment to safety from the very beginning. Both parties consider safety an essential component of production, and demonstrate that commitment with prepared questions and materials, and a readiness to discuss safety. Determining the sincerity of the commitment is a judgment call, but looking at the provider’s history and testimonials is one way to predict future behavior.


RECRUIT FOR SAFETY COMMITMENT AND INTEGRITY2

In addition to the integrity test, recruiters at Staff Management | SMX ask candidates behavior-based questions during interviews to establish both evidence of taking safety seriously and a history of safe behavior. Some examples include: • What would you do if you saw a coworker violating safety procedures? • Tell me about a time where you saw someone breaking safety rules.

4 BEST PRACTICES

Anyone can claim they are committed to safety, and a thorough background screening will often uncover conscientiousness or lack thereof. However, recruiting for actual safety commitment—and the integrity to follow through on those commitments—requires an extra step. One best practice is administering an online integrity test. An integrity test targets specific negative behaviors and evaluates candidates as qualified or unqualified based on their responses.


Asking safety questions during the hiring process helps to establish it as a priority in new hires’ minds. Following up with safety training further reinforces safety as a critical component of the job, especially if the training is comprehensive and task-specific.

Case in point: In addition to requiring new associates to sign a document that states they understand the safety requirements and expectations of the job, Staff Management | SMX provides new hires with the following workplace training:

INCLUDE SAFETY WHEN ONBOARDING ASSOCIATES3

An accident is defined as an “unplanned, unwanted event.” A near-miss is defined as “no damage to property or person, but there is learning from it.” Examples of these are discussed during initial training to familiarize associates with typical reporting scenarios.


• Hazard communication (the “Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication”), which helps

them understand the chemical-labeling system • Safe lifting, ladder and general manufacturing training • Company- and task-specific training (e.g., required PPE)

• Proper accident reporting • Emergency action plan • Fire Safety • Lockout Tag-out • Pedestrian Safety

Just like associates, the service team assigned to manage your account must also receive comprehensive safety training. Service team members should not only be knowledgeable about proper safety procedures but put these procedures into practice to set an example for the associates.

For training purposes, Staff Management | SMX created an online learning management system called Think! University.

Think! provides our employees with interactive training courses and requires their completion by a specific deadline. New courses are constantly being added to Think! so that employees can stay up to date. Some examples of out Think! courses include:

• How to complete an accident form • How to investigate an accident • Behavioral safety observations • How to utilize the safety council

PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY TRAINING TO SERVICE TEAM MEMBERS 4

BEST PRACTICES6


7A STAFFING BUYER’S GUIDE TO MITIGATING RISK

GIVE FRONT-LINE MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS ACCESS TO RESOURCES5

Once the service team members are trained, the staffing provider should provide them with ongoing access to resources so they don’t feel like they are “going at it alone.”

Case in point: Staff Management | SMX onsite service teams can utilize the following resources for support:

• The safety team to conduct training and site-specific safety audits • The safety council, which includes a dedicated representative to handle their questions • The risk-management department for managing claims • An online library of safety training materials • The associate advocate group for following up with associate injuries • An internal social media platform to emphasize safety best practices

KEEP SAFETY TOP OF MIND FOR ASSOCIATES6

GATHER PRESENT DISCUSS

One way to do this is to conduct pre-shift safety meetings with the associates. These pre-shift meetings, or “toolbox talks”, cover a different safety topic each day and offer a variety of benefits including:

• An opportunity to reinforce safety topics • A convenient time to update workers on current working conditions • A chance for workers to ask questions and express concerns

At Staff Management | SMX, our shift supervisors inform associates where they will work for the day, present a safety topic and then begin each shift with stretching exercises.

BEST PRACTICES8


The goal of a CBI is to increase awareness and engagement and to present safety topics in a way that’s easily understood. To avoid the risk of questions and answers becoming routine, the questions for a CBI are alternated. One time the supervisor will ask for the location of the emergency stop; another time he or she will ask for the nearest exit. If there are repeated or serious issues with an individual’s CBI, the associate may need to go through the training process again.

OSHA has long taken a dim view on safety incentives that involve rewards for “time without an accident.” OSHA’s policy is that such incentives pressure associates to avoid reporting injuries. Alternatively, OSHA encourages employers to reward associates for demonstrating the right behaviors. This has led to a best practice known as behavior-based safety.

Behavior-based safety is focused on observations and feedback. This could include supervisors taking the time to observe associates and provide feedback, encouraging associates to work as efficiently and safely as possible, avoiding bad habits, and ensuring associates know the required safety procedures.

In order to practice behavior based safety, Staff Management | SMX conducts Critical Behavioral Inventories (CBI). A CBI involves basic, routine observation of safety and efficiency, but also incorporates shift managers asking associates questions about a daily safety topic.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR-BASED SAFETY7A STAFFING BUYER’S GUIDE TO MITIGATING RISK 9


INVOLVE EVERYONE IN SAFETY - ESPECIALLY WHEN GETTING CREATIVE8

Because safety directly impacts associates, they are often eager to share what they see and hear on a daily basis. This can include participation in pre-shift meetings and offering their perspective on training. It can also include tapping into their creativity when developing new safety programs or addressing safety issues.

Case-in-point: Staff Management | SMX holds a contest each year during National Safety Month. Here are some examples from previous years:

National Safety Slogan: We asked service team members and associates to come up with ideas for a safety slogan and received more than 200 entries. The winning slogan was “A good safety record doesn’t come by accident.”

Safety Dance Contest: We had our teams submit dances that incorporated safety techniques and best practices, then showcased these videos across all of our locations.

I Live For Campaign: Our associates were asked to share why safety is important to them by remembering what motivates them to work every day and why it’s important to return home safely.

I LIVE FOR...

BEST PRACTICES10



Every safety program generates data: observation data, near-misses, training sessions, the results of safety audits and injuries. This information should be shared across departments and facilities to develop training that can help reduce hazards and avoid future accidents. It is also important to share this information with the client so that both parties can work together to improve safety issues within the work environment that may be causing accidents.

This data also can be used to rate the safety performance of individual sites and supervisors to determine who is performing at a high-level and where improvements can be made. Staff Management | SMX issues monthly scorecards to each site that include items such as on-time reporting and lost-time injuries. If a site is not performing well on a monthly basis, we put the site on a safety action plan, which can involve an in-depth audit of files, training processes and a review of the site’s safety programs. The onsite team then assigns action items based on the plan. These have included steps such as more signage, deeper stretching programs, training reviews and increased use of CBIs.

ISSUE SCORECARDS BASED ON PERFORMANCE9

Best practices for safety include the unfortunate cases in which an associate’s injury requires medical attention. Ideally, someone, preferably the direct supervisor, will accompany the injured associate to the treatment facility. The staffing provider should then assign a representative to assist with case management, which includes managing the process from the hospital visit to light-duty assignments and all the way through a complete return to work. The goal is not just to handle claims and smoothly facilitate the injury case, but to demonstrate sincere care for the associate throughout the process.

Effective case management helps to get associates back to work more quickly and also helps to avoid lawsuits. Staff Management | SMX assigns an associate advocate from corporate headquarters to assist with the OSHA recordable injury case. We then call the associate as soon as possible to reassure and inform them about the recovery and claims processes and to answer any questions. The idea is to set up a relationship with the associate and bring that person back to work as quickly as possible.

PLAN FOR HOW TO HANDLE INJURIES10

BEST PRACTICES12


Successful safety programs between employers and staffing providers require planning that starts at the beginning of the buying process. From there, both parties can establish a comprehensive safety program focused on training and development of employees as well as identification of hazards and the methods to abate them. As always, safety compliance is made possible with the following three components:

The steps we have outlined in this guide will help you develop a comprehensive approach to workplace safety that aims to reduce the number of injuries and ensures compliance to mitigate risk. We recognize that every employer faces unique safety challenges and we welcome the chance to engage with you about additional best practices specific to your work environment.


THE BOTTOM LINE

About Staff Management | SMXStaff Management | SMX, a TrueBlue Company, is a recognized leader in comprehensive staffing and outsourced workforce solutions that provide best talent, drive compliance, deliver tangible savings and yield sustainable value. Our expertise in supporting complex client staffing requirements without sacrificing quality, combined with our proven centralized service model, award-winning workforce and vendor management system (WVMS) and precision recruitment processes are key differentiators within the industry. Our innovative inside-out approach, commitment to continuous improvement and award-winning business model put client needs at the center of everything we do and the benefits of this approach are third-party validated. Staff Management | SMX won the 2016 Inavero Best of Staffing Client Award for receiving client satisfaction scores more than 70 percentage points above industry average. We were also ranked #1 in the Breadth of Service category in HRO Today’s 2015 Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction for Managed Service Programs.

Staffing Buyer and Provider Relationship

Commitment from Our Associates

Utilization of Safety Data

Documents

Best Practices for a Comprehensive Safety Program€¦ · Best Practices for a Comprehensive Safety Program ... of improved safety performance over the past 10 years. ... National